Djokovic Seeks 15th Consecutive French Open Quarter-Final Amidst Record-Setting Drama
Novak Djokovic aims to secure his 15th consecutive French Open quarter-final on Monday, following a dramatic match that set an unwanted Roland Garros record. The defending champion and 24-time Grand Slam winner reached the last 16 after a grueling five-set victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, concluding at 3:07 a.m. on Sunday—the latest finish in tournament history.
Reflecting on the match, the 37-year-old Djokovic remarked, “Certain things could have been handled differently. There is a certain beauty in winning at three in the morning if it’s the last match of the tournament, but this wasn’t the case.”
Next, Djokovic will face Argentina’s 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo for a place in the quarter-finals. A victory would mark Djokovic’s record 370th Grand Slam match win. Although the two have never met, Cerundolo recently stunned world number four Alexander Zverev on clay in Madrid en route to the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old also reached the last 16 in Paris in 2023, where he lost a close five-setter to Denmark’s Holger Rune.
Zverev, who eliminated 14-time champion Rafael Nadal in the first round, narrowly escaped defeat against Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, battling back from 4-1 down in the final set. The 27-year-old German, playing under the cloud of an ongoing trial in Berlin over assault allegations, is making his seventh consecutive fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros. He is also the only player to have reached the semi-finals in the past three French Opens. Rune, a two-time Paris quarter-finalist, defeated Zverev in straight sets during their sole previous clay encounter in Munich in 2022.
In other matches, fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev will face Australia’s 11th seed Alex de Minaur. Medvedev, a former US Open champion, reached the quarter-finals in 2021, breaking a streak of four consecutive first-round exits.
Norwegian Casper Ruud, runner-up to Nadal and Djokovic in the last two years, will play against Taylor Fritz for a spot in the quarter-finals. Fritz showcased his power by hitting 56 winners in a five-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round.
Women’s Tournament Highlights
In the women’s tournament, world number two Aryna Sabalenka, a semi-finalist in 2023 who has reached at least the semi-finals in her past six Grand Slams, faces American 22nd seed Emma Navarro. The 23-year-old Navarro is making her first appearance in the last 16 of a Grand Slam after defeating fellow American Madison Keys, the recent Strasbourg clay-court champion, in the third round.
Fourth seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, the only woman to beat world number one Iga Swiatek on clay this season, will compete against Ukrainian 15th seed Elina Svitolina.
Moscow-born French player Varvara Gracheva will take on 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the youngest woman to reach the last 16 on all three Grand Slam surfaces since Anna Kournikova in 1998. “I know Varvara pretty well. We’ve been practising together for almost two years, so I know what to expect. She’s at a great level right now,” said Andreeva of her 88th-ranked opponent.
In the final match of the day, Elina Avanesyan of Russia will go up against Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini.
